Dr. Grove is one of the co-founders of Intel Corporation, where he served in a variety of roles including COO, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. Currently he serves as a Senior Advisor to the organization.

Even though the book was published 15 years ago, its’ many insights are just as relevant to the current business environment. While there are many passages that could be highlighted, one that really resonates is:

Your career is literally your business. You own it as a sole proprietor. You have one employee: yourself. You are in competition with millions of similar businesses: millions of other employees all over the world. You need to accept ownership of your career, your skills and the timing of your moves. It is your responsibility to protect this personal business of yours from harm and to position it to benefit from the changes in the environment. Nobody else can do that for you. (p. 6)

This advice is equally applicable to the high school student starting college, the young professional entering the job market in a challenging economy, and the established professional seeking to continuously navigate treacherous waters.

I encourage you to invest the necessary time to read and thoroughly study this book.

References

Grove, A.S. (1996). Only the paranoid survive: How to exploit the crisis points that challenge every company and career. New York, NY: Currency Book.